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iiDi - Inter American Institute on Disability and Inclusive Development
With the support of Open Society Foundations
At the 2013 IDEA Regional Forum in Spanish (FIDE) 2013
held in Irapuato, Mexico on July 8-20,
young educators with disabilities participated for the first time
What was the impact of their participation alongside other educators and community workers?
Was inclusion possible?
At the end of two weeks of working together, we posed these questions to some of their fellow participants at the forum.
These were their answers.
I always believed everyone is equal
and people with disabilities must be treated with respect, but I'd never had the chance to interact with them.
Now, after interacting, I have a vision that goes beyond what everyone says,
Yes, we are all equal" and so on. Now I understand
there are abilities that others have and abilities other people develop
that are not so different from the normal abilities everyone has, "normal" in quotation marks.
Like Jota says, I had never had a chance to share an academic and cultural
space with people with disabilities,
and before the forum I had always believed in equal treatment for all human beings,
whatever their condition.
I think that the whole process of these past days
has helped me realize they should not be treated with charity, or looked down on, but rather always looked on as equals
based on a principle of solidarity, instead other principles that could distort the meaning of equality and inclusion.
Above all, what I got from the kids was strength
lots of strength and lots of enthusiasm.
It made a big impression on me, because when you see a person with a physical limitation,
it's not a decision, it's a limitation that exists,
and even so, you see what they are interested in doing, what inspires them to do things
it's very gratifying
And what I liked most is that they feel equal.
I really liked it that their self-esteem is not affected by being different
and that obviously motivates you to feel empathy with them.
You no longer look at them with sympathy or pity. You see them as equals.
I think they contribute something fundamental
, because they make us think about inclusion. They challenge people, and spaces,
they deconstruct preconceptions and ideas…
And if you haven't been educated to be inclusive when relating with people with disabilities
you often don't know how to behave, you may have certain preconceptions.
You don't have bad intentions, you just don't know how to not be discriminatory,
how to not be overprotective. And being able to share this space has really helped me a lot.
When I saw them in the group I felt very… happy, because I never imagined
to be honest, that people with disabilities would be participating in this experience.
Maybe because of the structure… we also have stereotypes, right?
So when I saw them it was exciting, but I also thought, how will they manage to participate?
And it has really been a rewarding experience, I have learned so much.
The fact that they organized a dance workshop and directed it really taught me something…
After seeing the way these guys and girls have participated
even with their disabilities, seeing their strength, dedication, willingness, their capacity for analysis
of these issues, it has made me realize that, in all the years
I've been doing social work, more than ten years, I have also been part of the problem,
by not making it possible for these people to have the opportunity to continue developing.
Because you tend to stigmatize, to discriminate, intentionally or unintentionally,
which was the case with me
And I understand that in all the work I am doing in my country,
I need to focus on integration, I need to focus on seeking out these people who are there,
who are always there, they are watching us
And it is possible to achieve a generational change including these people with disabilities.
It's not just the fact that they participated but also how other people see them.
There are a lot of people who don't understand the term inclusion in its full sense.
One thing is that they don't take it into account, another is that they don't give it visibility,
and another is sharing the same space. So the fact that they are interacting
with kids who had absolutely no idea of what social inclusion is,
or inclusion of people with different abilities, makes it much more likely
that when they are in other spaces, they will reflect and feel that it is possible to do it.
Because everything is always on paper but it's not always there in practice
and this activity was vital to see that inclusion really is possible.
When they have had the opportunity to express themselves, they have sensitized us
and to some point have even put us in check, like in a chess game,
forcing us to decide: "Am I going to be more real, or am I going to continue being superficial?"
I've always thought that people with disabilities have a lot of potential
that we have to believe in them.
So what this meeting has done for me is to make me believe this even more,
to be even more convinced that this is true.
And I love the idea that they are here sharing with us, with other people,
and they have been fully capable of keeping up at this forum, which has been pretty intense and tiring.
Before this, I had no prejudices, thank god, because I have a lot of relatives
and friends with disabilities, and because of that I don't have many barriers when it comes to relating with them.
And now that I think of it, there haven't been many changes, but my list of friends
with certain special abilities has grown and I like that,
I feel more at ease because I feel more a part of them,
I feel comfortable talking and sharing things with them
I think that in general, for all of us who participated in the community component,
the kids made an emotional impact on everyone,
because they demonstrated all the capacities they have, the abilities they have
so they were never seen as being inferior. I think that as a team we all participated really well,
but those who gained the most from the experience are the people who have no disability.
From now on,
I will look at people with disabilities in a different way
thanks to the fact that this forum made it possible for you to be here with us,
and you allowed us to be here, with no limits, without saying, oh we…
No, you always…
I even like hanging out with you guys more, because we are a lot alike,
our way of thinking, our cheerfulness and all that…
And we don't limit ourselves,
some people come here all like this,
but you guys are always giving love and all that.
Keep making it happen, keep making it happen and I will keep spreading the message!
Interviews
Music: "Haga que Pase"
Voice-over: Enzo Ferlauto Edition and interviews: Judith Meresman